Author: Nika Kratsashvili

One of the main obstacles to the development of sports in the Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia is the status of the occupied regions of Georgia. Only Russia and a few of its allies recognize the independence of the Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia, which prevents them from participating in international sporting events. Participation in tournaments in Russia is the most real opportunity for Ossetian and Abkhaz sportsmen to achieve career growth and success.

The Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia do not have adequate infrastructure or sufficient funding for holding sporting events. Therefore, athletes often take part in championships in the North Caucasus or in different regions of Russia. Only sportsmen with Russian passports can participate in international tournaments.

This part of the publication discusses the development of sports in the Tskhinvali region (the first part - the situation in Abkhazia), the challenges it faces, who oversees this direction, the Russia-Tskhinvali region relations in the field of sports and how it is represented at international sports events.

Challenges to the Development of Sports

Valentina Gatikoeva, the Deputy Chairwoman of the de facto Youth Policy and Sports Committee of the Tskhinvali Region, discussed the development of sports at a press conference on April 21, 2021. She said that 3,109 children are involved in sports, however, they mostly fail to participate in tournaments necessary for the development of their sportive skills due to the lack of funding. In addition, due to the 2020 pandemic, participation in competitions was also limited. According to Gatikoeva, the Tskhinvali region is strong in single sports, but not in team sports, such as basketball, handball or rugby. During the last ten years „no specialists have appeared in the ‘republic’ who would give a full impetus to the development of team sports“. Many families send their children to Russia to pursue a sports career because, according to a stereotype, sports do not thrive in the Tskhinvali region. According to Gatikoeva, work is underway on the sports development program, however, the date of its adoption is unknown, as it requires funding.

Who Oversees the Direction of Sports in the Tskhinvali Region?

So-called Committee on Youth Policy, Sports and Tourism oversees the direction of sports in the Tskhinvali region. Sergey Zaseev, the Chairman of the Committee since 2013, has also worked in the State Security Committee of the Tskhinvali region in the past.

Football

Unlike Abkhazia, there are no annual tournaments in the Tskhinvali region. Football clubs and the „national team“ of the region mainly participate in tournaments in Russia or play with teams of other unrecognized regions. According to the CONIFA website, the so-called Football Federation of the Republic of South Ossetia was established in 1997. The federation is headed by Soslan Kochiev.

In 2013, the football club of the Tskhinvali region played for the first time at the “international” level. It lost 0-3 in a friendly match against the Abkhaz “team” in Sokhumi.

Friendly match of the “national teams” of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, 2013. Source: Nonfifafootball Blogspot

The Tskhinvali region has extensive ties with the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania due to the common ethnic origin and geographical factor which also affects the development of football. There are cases when young footballers from the Tskhinvali region play for the North Ossetian national team. In April 2021, the Tskhinvali “team” of the Tskhinvali region participated in the North Ossetian Republican Championship. The championship of North Ossetia has been held since 1990 and Tskhinvali (formerly called Spartak) won the championship in 1994 and 2019. Last year, it did not participate due to the pandemic.

Football teams from the Tskhinvali region also participate in various tournaments in Russia. For example, in 2021, young players of Barsalan who were born in 2010 and 2011 participated in the Hopes Cup 2021 all-Russian tournament in Sochi.

CONIFA

From international tournaments, the Tskhinvali region team participates only in the CONIFA Cup. CONIFA, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations, was founded in 2013 and unites all football associations outside FIFA. CONIFA is not an official tournament and it is mainly attended by representatives of unrecognized regions. Its first championship was held in 2014 in Ostersund, Sweden. According to the CONIFA constitution, it is a non-profit organization registered in Sweden. It has about 60 members worldwide.

At the 2014 CONIFA Championship in Sweden, the “national team” of the Tskhinvali region took the 4th  place. The Center-Forward Artur Elbaev scored the first goal of the championship. The Tskhinvali region showed the best result at this championship inflicting a devastating 19-0 victory over Darfur. The game ended 0-0 against the “team” of Abkhazia, and 0-2 against the County of Nice. The Tskhinvali region, like Abkhazia, failed to participate in the CONIFA European Championship in Hungary in 2015 due to protests by the Georgian government.

CONIFA European Championship, 2019. Source: CONIFA

In 2019, the “national team” of the Tskhinvali region won the CONIFA European Championship which took place in Nagorno Karabakh. It beat Western Armenia 1-0 in the final. In 2020, the championship was not held due to the pandemic.

The 2021 CONIFA Championship has already been postponed once. It was to be held in Nice, France, on July 7-17. A total of twelve teams, including teams from the Tskhinvali region and Abkhazia, were to take part in it. Abkhazia was to play against Sapmi (Lapland) and the Szekely Land (Romania) in Group B, while the Tskhinvali region was to play against Karabakh and Cornwall (England) in Group C. As reported in May, the championship was postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic.

Other Sports in the Tskhinvali Region

In addition to football, the Tskhinvali region is also trying to develop other sports. Successful athletes compete in Russian tournaments on behalf of the Tskhinvali region or Russia, and outstanding sportsmen compete in European and international tournaments on behalf of Russia. Mostly, athletes from the Tskhinvali region participate in tournaments in the North Caucasus Federal District and the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania.

Wrestling. In 2021, Arik Dzeranov won the North Caucasus Federal District Freestyle Wrestling Championship. Soslan Jagaev won the Russian U-18 Freestyle Wrestling Championship in Vladikavkaz. Wrestlers from the Tskhinvali region won two gold and one silver medals at the Russian U-21 Freestyle Wrestling Championship in Irkutsk, on April 8-12.

Judo. In March 2021, a judoka Alana Alborova won the first round of the Fifth Summer Youth Olympics in the Moscow region. Alborova won a gold medal at the North Caucasus Federal District Championship last year and a bronze medal at the Russian Under-23 Championship.

Arm Wrestling. In 2021, three arm wrestlers from Tskhinvali competed in Russia. They won silver medals at the arm wrestling championship in Orel, which was attended by about 400 athletes from all over Russia. As a result, the sportsmen gained a chance to participate in the European Championship in Lithuania in May. Also, Three athletes from the Tskhinvali region won the first place on behalf of the North Ossetian team at the Russian Championship in Belgorod.

Arm wrestlers from the Tskhinvali region at the championship in Orel. Source:  Sputnik Ossetia

Weightlifting. In March 2021, Alexander Dzhioev from Tskhinvali competed in a weightlifting championship in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug in Russia and won a bronze medal. As a result, he gained the right to participate in the Russian Championship.

Boxing. In March 2021, boxers from the Tskhinvali region won one gold, two silver and one bronze medals at the North Ossetian Boxing Championship. In April, Guram Gagiev, a student of the so-called South Ossetian Boxing School, won the first place at the Russian Championship. It was the first victory of the Tskhinvali region, before it had only managed to reach the final.

Karate. In February 2021, young athletes won twelve prizes at the North Ossetian Championship, five of which were gold, silver and bronze medals. As a result, the sportsmen gained a place in the North Ossetian team, which will compete in the Russian Championship.

Grappling. The Tskhinvali region is also active in the direction of grappling, which is a new, however, quite popular sport. In February 2021, grapplers won ten prizes at the Novocherkassk Cup.

Grappling Team. Source: Sputnik Ossetia

H2H Combat. In March, the Tskhinvali region participated in a hand-to-hand combat championship in North Ossetia. A total of 250 athletes competed in the competition. 19 sportsmen from the Tskhinvali region took prizes.

Basketball. In 2021, in Tskhinvali, the Sports Department of the city organized a youth basketball tournament. The Albion Gymnasium became the winner of the tournament. According to the Coach Roland Dzabiev, the tournament was of great interest, however, the overall level of basketball in the Tskhinvali region is still low.

Table Tennis.  Following the international success of Irina Elbakieva, Amanda Kokoeva and Alana Gigolaeva, table tennis is gaining popularity in the Tskhinvali region. In 2021, the athletes competed for the first time at the championships in North Ossetia and the North Caucasus Federal District.

Gymnastics. Gymnastics is also well developed sport in the Tskhinvali region. For example, Diana Kokoeva, an athlete from Tskhinvali, as part of the North Ossetian national team, became a finalist in the rhythmic gymnastics championship of the North Caucasian Federal and Southern Federal Districts of the Russian Federation in 2021. Diana Kokoeva and Victoria Plieva, only two candidates from the Tskhinvali region, are nominated for the Russian Master of Sports. At the 2021 North Ossetia Tournament, which comprised all regions of the North Caucasus Federal District, gymnasts of the Tskhinvali region rhythmic gymnastics school won four gold and seven silver medals.

Swimming. In March 2021, the third stage of the Golden Fish-2021 swimming competition was held in Tskhinvali. Schoolchildren participated in the competition. The fourth stage of the competition took place at the end of April and young people from the Tskhinvali region and North Ossetia participated in it.